Larry Ellison, the 81-year-old software mogul, has overtaken Elon Musk to become the world’s richest man after his fortune rose by more than $100 billion on Wednesday.
The co-founder and largest shareholder of Oracle, the US technology company, stole the title after his company reported huge growth in cloud computing demand from companies investing in generative artificial intelligence.
Oracle’s shares jumped by 40 per cent in morning trading in New York on Wednesday, increasing Ellison’s fortune by about $101 billion.
The gain lifted Ellison’s total net worth to $393 billion, surpassing the $385 billion fortune of Musk, 54, the chief executive of Tesla, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index.
The increase demonstrates the huge wealth that is being created for some individuals by the AI boom.
Ellison owns 41 per cent of Oracle, which he co-founded in 1977. The company’s initial public offering took place in 1986, with an offering price of $15. The shares were trading up $97.59, or 40.4 per cent, at $339.17 around midday in New York.
Ellison grew up in Chicago, having been adopted by his mother’s aunt and uncle when he was a baby. He dropped out of the University of Illinois and the University of Chicago before moving to Berkeley, California, to work as a computer programmer for Ampex, where he worked on a database called Oracle for the CIA.
He later co-founded Oracle, based in Austin, Texas, with two friends in 1977. Ellison stood down as Oracle’s chief executive in 2014, taking on the titles of chairman and chief technology officer.
Ellison’s assets also include a 1.4 per cent stake in Tesla, according to the company’s 2022 proxy statement. His stake hasn’t been disclosed since June 2022, when he stepped down from Tesla’s board of directors.
Ellison has a reputation for lavish spending. He owns the Indian Wells tennis tournament, and Lanai island, Hawaii. In 2019 he also started SailGP, a championship where teams race 50ft foiling catamarans.
Ellison was last year reported to have married for the fifth time to a 33-year-old Michigan University alumna, Jolin Zhu.
The mogul’s children include David Ellison, 42, founder of the film and TV producer Skydance Media who last month took over as chief executive of Paramount, the entertainment conglomerate, after a takeover battle.